The chairmen of the foreign affairs committees of the Baltic parliaments, Estonia’s Marko Mihkelson, Latvia’s Rihards Kols, and Lithuania’s Zygimantas Pavilionis, praised Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections held on 13 January 2023, LSM reports. In a joint statement, they said that the elections demonstrated the strength of Taiwan’s “robust democratic system,” saying that the country…
Housing prices more than tripled in Estonia between 2010 and the third quarter of 2023, rising by 210%, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. Meanwhile, housing prices more than doubled in Lithuania (up 158%) and Latvia (up 141%) over the same period. The increase in rents was the EU’s highest in Estonia (up 218%) and…
Housing prices in the Baltic States rose the fastest in Lithuania in the third quarter of 2023, according to Eurostat data, BNS reports. Housing prices rose by 8.7% over a year in Lithuania, 3.8% in Estonia, and 3.2% in Latvia. Compared to the second quarter of 2023, housing prices rose by 2.4% in Lithuania, but…
Latvia supports prohibiting the import of Russian grain but will not impose a unilateral ban, parties in the coalition government announced, LSM reports. Instead, Latvia calls on EU member states to agree on a common position on the issue. At the same time, the government is instructing ministries to assess the impact of such a…
Estonia will issue 10-year bonds for EUR 1bn to cover the state budget deficit in 2024, ERR reports. Sven Kirsipuu, deputy secretary general of the Ministry of Finance, said that the bond issue would cover about half of the state’s borrowing needs in 2024. Preliminary indications suggested that investor interest in Estonian bonds remained strong,…
Latvia’s registered unemployment level stood at 5.7% of the economically active population at the end of 2023, which was down from 6.1% at the end of 2022, according to data from the State Employment Agency (NVA), LETA reported. The number of registered unemployed totalled 50,344 at the end of 2023, which was down from 53,536…
Estonia’s consumer price index (CPI) rose by 9.2% in 2023, compared to the year before, according to Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. The rise of food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for almost two fifths of the overall rise in consumer prices. Meanwhile, petrol prices dropped by 7.4% and diesel fuel prices by 10.7% over a year….
Retailers in Estonia expect declining sales in the first half of 2024 amid lower consumer confidence, ERR reports. Many consumers plan to go shopping in neighbouring countries due to the rise in the VAT rate from 20% to 22% as of 1 January 2024, according to a Norstat poll for Citadele bank, BNS reports. The…
The share of renewable sources in total energy consumption in the Baltic States was highest in Latvia in 2022, LSM reports. Eurostat data showed that 43.3% of Latvia’s gross final energy consumption came from renewable sources in 2022, which was up from 42.1% in 2021. Estonia came in second with 38.5% (37.4%), followed by Lithuania…